{"title":"Our Newest Items!","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"coral-shell-and-silver-multistrand-necklace","title":"Coral, Shell and Silver Multi-strand Yemen Necklace","description":"\u003cp\u003eWow - this is an fabulous six-strand assemblage necklace of coral, silver, shell and other beads from Yemen in the Middle East.  This necklace is really spectacular, with gorgeous small coral beads, as well as a really interesting mix of high-quality and lower quality silver beads, which (as described below) are in a variety of conditions, from very nice to damaged.  But the really wonderful thing about this necklace (like it's sister, available \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.beadstore.com\/products\/coral-silver-multi-strand-yemen-necklace\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e) is it's overall \"wow\" factor.  Put it on and you're ready to make a statement!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause there's so much to describe in this necklace, we've taken a number of pictures.  The first thing to recognize is that this is a long necklace -- almost 38 inches long!  Total weights is 320.8 grams.  The coral beads are all a little different i size, but measure 4-5 mm in diameter on average.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe necklace is beautiful, but there is definitely some damage to the individual components -- we don't think these \"flaws\" detract from the overall aesthetic of the  necklace, but we still want to point them out:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe center bead is a gorgeous vintage Jewish\/Yemeni silver work bead.  It measures 30 mm in diameter, 11 mm in thickness.  Note that there appears to be a small stone or cabochon space on each side of the bead that is empty.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe two silver tube beads right next to the center bead are quite lovely, probably vintage and with a high silver content\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe grouping of tube beads towards the bottom of the necklace are some sort of \"pot metal\" (i.e., little silver content, whatever was \"in the pot\" that day).  They are the same shape as the two nicer tubers, but of more recent vintage and lower craftsmanship.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne of the coolest pieces of this necklace are the three large flat roundel beads on each side of the necklace.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere is one shell bead and two metal beads on each side of the necklace.  \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOne of the metal beads on each side is a pot metal imitation of an older bead with a bright blue or red rhinestone embedded.  Very cool - but definitely not silver.  \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe other metal beads are highly damaged duplicates of the center bead.  One is missing its back and somewhat bent, while the other is partially caved in.    \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFurther up the necklace are some very cool shell beads that we usually associate with Nepal or India.  Perhaps they are native to Yemen as well, or perhaps they were traded.  Very pretty and in good shape.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe top of the necklace features some lovely silver beads, made of very thin stamped sheet metal.  The quality is mixed, as some of the beads have gotten a little beat up over the years.   \u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eA few of the smaller silver spacer beads, while nice quality silver, are broken or damaged.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe don't know a lot about the provenance of this necklace, but it seems to us to be a traditional wedding assemblage of beads, perhaps from the Beduin peoples that live in the mountains of Yemen.  The necklace could certainly be worn as-is.  However, it is strung on cotton cord, and certainly a modern stringing job would be warranted (which we could do for any additional $150).  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":18179535110240,"sku":"YemenCoralShell","price":1450.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0231\/5283\/products\/Coral_Shell5.jpg?v=1571438651"},{"product_id":"gold-baule-face-pendant-1","title":"Gold Baule Face Pendant #1","description":"\u003cp\u003eStunningly gorgeous face pendant made of gold.  This rare pendant is made in the \"Lost Wax\" technique of the Baule peoples of the Ivory Coast, in West Africa.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBaule castings are some of the most beautiful in world and this one is particularly special because of its gold content, which gives the face a particularly lovely bright shine.  The face has an elaborate traditional woven woman's hairdo, with several ritual scars on the cheek that were traditionally thought to enhance beauty.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the best things about this type of art is that you can see the evidence that this is hand-made.  On this particular pendant, you can see where the pendant was detached from the tubes that carried the molten metal through the clay mold.  The molding mark is just below the lip and includes several small holes in the metal.  While the mold mark is visible from the front, in no way detracts from the beauty of this piece.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlso note that there is a slight crack visible upon close inspection from the forehead down to the nose.  The crack was skillfully repaired and is most visible from the back.  There's even two small pinholes that allow a little light through where the repair didn't completely take.  We see no evidence that the cracks are structural, but it's always prudent to be careful with a piece like this.       \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis pendant weighs 38.5 grams.  Our estimate is that the gold is somewhere between 8k - 12k.  So for pure scrap value (heaven forfend!), the gold is worth about $15 per gram (based on a gold value of about $40\/gram).  Assuming a gold content of 10k, that's about $600 worth of gold.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pendant measures 58 mm high (not including the bale) by 49 mm wide (at her widest point).  The pendant also has a nice three-dimensional quality, measuring approximate 20 mm in depth.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":18219997397088,"sku":"GoldFace1","price":1350.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0231\/5283\/products\/GoldFace1.jpg?v=1571438651"},{"product_id":"gold-baule-face-pendant-2","title":"Gold Baule Face Pendant #2","description":"\u003cp\u003eGorgeous face pendant made of gold.  This rare pendant is made in the \"Lost Wax\" technique of the Baule peoples of the Ivory Coast, in West Africa.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBaule castings are some of the most beautiful in world and this one is particularly special because of its gold content, which gives the face a particularly lovely bright shine.  The face has a traditional woven woman's hairdo, with several ritual scars on the cheek that were traditionally thought to enhance beauty.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOne of the best things about this type of art is that you can see the evidence that this is hand-made.  On this particular pendant, you can see where the pendant was detached from the tubes that carried the molten metal through the clay mold.  The molding mark is just below the lip.  While the mold mark is visible from the front, it's not very noticeable.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis pendant weighs 35.0 grams.  Our estimate is that the gold is somewhere between 8k - 12k.  So for pure scrap value (heaven forfend!), gold of this quality is worth about $15 per gram (based on a pure gold value of about $40\/gram).  So that's about $525 worth of gold.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe pendant measures 56 mm high (not including the bale) by 40 mm wide (at her widest point).  The pendant also has a nice three-dimensional quality, measuring approximate 13 mm in depth.  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":18220776161376,"sku":"GoldFace2","price":1200.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0231\/5283\/products\/GoldFace2-400.jpg?v=1571438651"},{"product_id":"amazing-turkoman-adornment","title":"Amazing Turkoman Adornment","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is an amazing piece of beautiful Turkoman art -- with a bit of a mystery thrown in!  The piece is a large flat metal disk with an intricate repeating pattern incised into the metal.  The green piece in the middle appears to be glass.  And the back of the piece has a large pin, likely used to attached it either through a button hole or piece of fabric.  (Personally, we love seeing it used as a scarf clip!)  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis piece is not for the faint of heart -- it's the size of a small plate, measuring about 5 inches in diameter.  It's also relatively heavy, weighing a hefty 437 grams.  It's very difficult to tell exactly what the metal is made of, but it probably has only a small amount (if any) of silver.  So it's the decorate and beauty that sets the price of this one, rather than the inherent value of the metal.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut the really cool mystery about this piece is the engraving on the back.  The name \"Dolores\" and then a last name starting with the letter \"A\".  The calligraphy is just beautiful.  To the best of our knowledge Dolores in not a traditional Turkoman name, but was maybe engraved post-manufacture?  Looks Spanish to us, but who knows?  Anyway, cool mystery!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"beadstore.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":18230458351712,"sku":"TurkDolores","price":375.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0231\/5283\/products\/Dolores400x400.jpg?v=1571438651"},{"product_id":"coral-silver-multi-strand-yemen-necklace","title":"Coral \u0026 Silver Multi-strand Yemen Necklace","description":"\u003cp\u003eWow - this is an fabulous seven-strand assemblage necklace of coral and silver (with a few little glass beads thrown in) from Yemen in the Middle East.  This necklace is spectacular -- measuring a whopping 45 inches long!  The little coral beads are gorgeous, and there's a number of very intriguing silver beads throughout.  The silver beads are an interesting mix of high-quality and lower quality silver beads, which (as described below) are in a variety of conditions, from very nice to damaged.  But the big attraction this piece (and its sister necklace, available \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.beadstore.com\/products\/coral-shell-and-silver-multistrand-necklace\"\u003ehere\u003c\/a\u003e) is it's overall \"wow\" factor.  Put it on and you're already made a statement!\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBecause there's so much to describe in this necklace, we've taken a number of pictures.  The first thing to recognize is that this is a long necklace -- approximately 45 inches long.  Total weights is 369.9 grams.  The coral beads are all a little different size, but the ones toward the center measure between 5-6 mm in diameter, while the ones towards the top measure more in the 4-5 mm range.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe necklace is beautiful, but there is definitely some damage to the individual components -- we don't think these \"flaws\" detract from the overall aesthetic of the  necklace, but we still want to point them out:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe center bead is a gorgeous vintage Jewish\/Yemeni silver bead made of coin silver.  It measures 34 mm in diameter, 10 mm in thickness.  Note that there appears to be a small stone or cabochon space on each side of the bead that is empty.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAbout halfway up the necklace, there are five more (two on one side, three on the other) coin silver beads that are also nice vintage silver work.  Although all of the beads show wear, they are intact, with some slight bending at the edges and significant wear on one of them.  Like the center bead, these beads all have an empty space for a \u003cspan\u003esmall stone or cabochon on each side of the bead\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere are three separate groupings of silver tubes and flat stamped silver beads at various points along the necklace.  All appear to be silver, although they tend to be made of very thin stamped metal.  As a result of the thinness of the beads, several are a little squashed and a few have been flattened or have little holes in the metal where they have been damaged.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThere are a few European-made glass beads interspaced throughout.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe don't know a lot about the provenance of this necklace, but it seems to us to be a traditional wedding assemblage of beads, perhaps from the Beduin peoples that live in the mountains of Yemen.  The necklace could certainly be worn as-is.  However, it is strung on cotton cord, and certainly a modern stringing job would be warranted (which we could do for any additional $150).  \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":18247394590816,"sku":"YemenCoralSilver","price":1650.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0231\/5283\/products\/Coral_Silver.jpg?v=1571438651"},{"product_id":"super-nice-4-6-layer-chevron-strand","title":"Super Nice 4 \u0026 6 Layer Chevron Strand","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis is a really nice mix of four- and seven layer chevrons.  The three 6-layer egg-shaped chevrons are lovely examples of this type of bead and are in immaculate condition. The rest of the chevrons are barrel-style beads with four layers, although there are a few six-layer beads mixed in.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe necklace measures 30 inches long.  The center bead measures 49 mm long by 30 mm in diameter.  The barrel beads that make up the majority of the strand measure about 20 mm in diameter.  They are also in very good shape, but show a little more wear than the center beads.  The smallest barrels measure 14 - 16 mm in diameter.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn all around great classy strand of these famous beads.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Abe","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":18269944119392,"sku":"Chev300","price":975.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0231\/5283\/products\/Chev300.jpg?v=1571438651"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.beadstore.com\/collections\/our-newest-items-for-winter-2017\/chevrons.oembed","provider":"beadstore.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}